Donna Martell (born December 24, 1927) is an American former actress who appeared in film and television during the Golden Age Era in the 1950s and 1960s.
Early years Born on December 24, 1927, in Los Angeles, California, to Louis and Margaret de Maria, Martell was active in athletics in high school and attended Los Angeles City College.
Career Martell began her film career in 1947, when she was cast in the Republic Pictures western Apache Rose, starring Roy Rogers and Dale Evans. She continued making appearances throughout the late 1940s, signing a contract with Universal Studios. In 1951, Columbia Pictures signed her to appear in The Hills of Utah.
By the time the 1950s arrived, Martell's career shifted towards television. She portrayed Marie DiPaolo in The Bob Cummings Show and appeared in shows such as Shotgun Slade, Cavalcade of America, The Range Rider, Bat Masterson and Cheyenne.
Martell was also in Project Moonbase (also known as Project Moon Base), a 1953 black-and-white science-fiction film directed by Richard Talmadge. The film is unusual for its time in both attempting to portray space travel in a "realistic" manner, and for depicting a future in which women hold positions of authority and responsibility equal to men. In the script, Martell's character Briteis (nickname "bright-eyes") is a colonel who has made the first orbital flight around the Earth four years earlier and outranks her fellow male astronaut, a major. Colonel Briteis' given name is never stated.
Martell's acting career officially ended in 1963, but made a brief comeback in the 1983 TV movie Grace Kelly, playing the part of Mrs. Edie Austin, a friend of the Kelly family who, along with her husband Russell Austin, was instrumental in advancing the real-life relationship between Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier III of Monaco.
Personal life Martell married professional baseball player Gene Edgar Corso on June 27, 1953. The couple had three children. Corso pre-deceased his wife in 1996.
Awards Martell was presented with one of the 2002 Golden Boot Awards for her contributions to western television and cinema.
Filmography YearTitleRoleNotes1947Apache RoseRosa VegaTwilight on the Rio Grande1st telephone operatorUncreditedRobin Hood of MontereyLolitaThe Lost MomentPretty GirlUncreditedSecret Beyond the DoorYoung Mexican girlUncredited1948The Woman from TangierFlo-FloThe Saxon CharmFlower girlUncreditedMexican HayrideGirlUncredited1949Illegal EntryMariaAbbott and Costello Meet the Killer, Boris KarloffBetty Crandall1950I Was a ShoplifterSales clerkUncreditedPeggyContestantKimHaikunUncredited1951The Hills of UtahNola FrenchElephant StampedeLola1952Last Train from BombayNawob's daughterThe Golden HawkEmilie Savonez1953Project MoonbaseColonel BriteisGive a Girl a BreakJanet Hallson1954The EgyptianLady in waitingUncredited1955Ten Wanted MenMaria SeguraLove Is a Many-Splendored ThingSuchenLast of the DesperadosFelice1957Hell on Devil's IslandGiselle RenaultHouse of NumbersLoisUncredited
Television The Adventures of Kit Carson (1952–1953) five characters in seven episodes Death Valley Days (1952) "She Burns Green" – Rosie Winters; (1955) "The Valencia Cake" – Charlita The Lineup (1955) "Girl Safecrackers" G.E. Summer Originals (1956) "Blizzard Bound" The West Point Story (1957) two different episodes The Lineup (1958) "The Pawn Ticket Case" Cheyenne (1960) as Maria, in television episode "Home Is the Brave" – Maria Prescott 77 Sunset Strip (1961) "Hot Tomale Caper", Two-part episode – Maria Rodriguez Tales of Wells Fargo (1961, Episode: "John Jones") – Zita Lopez Hawaiian Eye (1962) "Pursuit of a Lady – Maria Orello Bonanza (1963) "Toy Soldier" Esther Callahan
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